Mount: “The Club Is Huge”

Mason Mount explained why he chose to make the move to Pride Park Stadium after he joined Derby County from Chelsea on a season-long loan deal.

The highly-rated 19-year-old excelled during his spell with Dutch Eredivisie club Vitesse Arnhem last term, and now he is set for his first season at senior level in English football.

Mount has worked with Frank Lampard and Jody Morris during his time with Chelsea, and the midfielder highlighted the pair as a key factor that attracted him to the club.

He told RamsTV: “Being at Chelsea and playing in midfield, I’ve looked up to Frank Lampard throughout my life and career.

“He’s been a big role model for me and I’ve worked with Jody before, he was a great player so I have a great relationship with them both and I’m looking forward to working with them.

“It was a big pull, but the club overall is a massive pull. The fans, there is always a massive following at every game.

“The club is huge and I want to take them into the Premier League, that’s where they belong.

“It’s a lovely training ground and I played at the stadium a couple of years ago for Chelsea, so it’s a great set-up.”

Mount scored 14 goals in all competitions last season as he helped Vitesse to achieve European qualification, and his performances earned him the club’s Player of the Year award.

Five of those strikes - as well as an assist - came towards the end of the campaign during the play-offs to reach the UEFA Europa League, and he wants to pick up where he left off when the Sky Bet Championship campaign gets underway.

On the loan spell, he said: “At the start of the season, I didn’t play as much but I grew into the team and I had that connection with the fans.

“I enjoyed it a lot. The main thing was playing football during that first loan, I enjoyed it, I got some goals but now I’m looking forward to this season.

“I won’t say that I’m similar to Frank Lampard because he had an unbelievable career, obviously I would like to have a similar career to what he had.

“I like to score goals, get high up the pitch and get some assists, I’m an attacking midfielder but I also like to do the other side of the game.”